Fullerton City Council Voted 4-1 (Whitaker “no”) to approve an “operational” plan for downtown paid parking at their December 17 meeting, a program which may become permanent.

SP+ (the company the city has contracted to run the downtown paid parking 6-month pilot program) projected that revenues collected from the program would be around $7,000 per week. However, data collected shows actual revenue collection to be about $4,500 per week.

Total net weekly income was around $1,800, with a total net income for 20 weeks of $47,000. This revenue includes income from parking citations, of which 2,380 were issued.

SP+ has submitted its initial proposal for a permanent program, which is tentatively scheduled for City Council consideration in early 2020.

The revenue from the program is meant to go toward downtown improvements.

During council discussion, councilmember Ahmad Zahra pointed out that the net income for the program is dependent on citations, otherwise it barely breaks even.

“I’m just a little worried that if we’re going to be dependent on citations and those decline over time then there is no net income at all,” Zahra said.

Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald said that, with the implementation of a comprehensive daytime parking program, “we would see more revenue from added spaces that will become available.”

Councilmember Bruce Whitaker, who has voted against the program, said that by relying on citations, the city is “moving into increasingly predatory practices.”

Both Whitaker and Zahra expressed concern about the impact of paid parking on downtown business.